TIRUCHY: Residents of four tribal hamlets in Kombai panchayat of Pachamalai hills complain that the road connecting them has turned so non-motorable over the past five years that their relatives now hesitate to visit them considering the treacherous commute they have to undertake.
Mentioning that it has been about five years since vehicles stopped plying on the road between Sembulichanpatti and Erikkadu, which also covers the hamlets of Maruthai, Erumaipatti and Gundur, locals say the road laid decades ago is now severely damaged that not only has bus services in the route been suspended but ambulances also avoid using it.
The stretch of about six kilometres also is cause for accidents for two-wheeler riders, they add. Selvakumar M of Erumaipatti said, "When pregnant women in our hamlet develop labour pain, we carry them in a dholi (a piece of cloth supported by sticks) up to Sembulichanpatti because ambulances can drive only up to that point."
Mentioning that the road also makes it difficult to transport the paddy they harvest on the hills, he said, “Even our relatives in other parts of the hills don’t like to visit us. As there is no mobile connectivity here other than BSNL, which also is available only in select parts, we are truly disconnected from the outside world." When enquired, panchayat president J Raveendran said the road was laid around 20 years ago hardly was maintained since.
“We met Collector M Pradeep Kumar several times in this regard yet no action has been taken. Government officials are aware of the situation yet action is not taken." When contacted, a tribal welfare department official told TNIE that a proposal has been submitted to the state government for re-laying a 6-km stretch of the road at an estimate of `6.5 crores.